It’s a fact of life; we will come into contact with people and or situations that result in arguments or conflict. Those situations are never easy or comfortable yet there is always a choice in how we handle them. Now I know it may not seem like there is a choice in the moment, but I assure you there is! You see, you can choose to be reactive and yell or fight back, or you can choose to remain calm and not succumb to the anger instinct.   I’m not saying it’s easy and it is more productive.

When someone is angry with you and you start yelling back, what happens? Does the situation get resolved or does it escalate? More often than not it gets worse and a solution to the problem isn’t created. Now, you might be asking yourself what other way is there to react in that situation? Great question! There are many other strategies you can rely on:

• Remain Calm
• Acknowledge their feelings by saying: “Whoa, I can see you are very angry.”
• Ask them to calm down so you can talk
• Let them know you are going to walk away by saying: “I’m going to walk away now, and we can talk when you have calmed down.”
• React with humour
• If the person in getting really aggressive and you think it might get physical move to a place where there is an adult who can intervene.

It takes practice to not react with anger, yet when you remain calm or don’t fight anger with anger, you would be surprised what a difference it makes. Your interactions will be more peaceful and productive. The next time you find yourself in an argument, I Dare u 2 Bee Calm!

Love,

Alanna Carr